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JFYI, I don't cold crash my lagers: - I've heard Jamil Zainasheff say more than once that lager yeasts can generate off flavours if you cool them too quickly - I think he suggests one degree (and I assume that's degrees F!) per day!!! I'm too impatient to wait that long! - I'm fermenting at...

Okay cool, I'm using 2278 as well in my Czech Pils, and also Czech Dark Lager, and like I say even being conservative/cautious it's done after 3.5-4 weeks low and slow at 10⁰C. (FWIW, I make my starters at room temp and I'm surprised how clean the liquor tastes afterwards. I'm perfectly happy...

@SMP Brewery I think what I probably said is that if you watch the series of videos on YouTube that The Malt Miller did with Budvar you'll find Budvar don't do a diacetyl rest, they just keep it at 10⁰C or so. Besides which, if you've kept it at that temp for 4 weeks I'll bet it's long since...

@pilgrimhudd my top tip for your predicament is make a vitality starter the day before brew day (a.k.a shaken not stirred starter). I always do this with dried yeast (and sometimes liquid & slurry). For my 12L batches I use 50g DME in 500ml water (you may need to double up for larger batches)...

AG#125 "Snuggly Duckling" Best Bitter Something I made back in AG#82, albeit under a different name. Only real change is I'm trying a different yeast, WHC Hop Unlock which I strongly suspect is actually a British Ale yeast judging by the way it attenuates and flocculates. 15L tap water, 2.5ml...

Yep, pretty much, usually ends up about 4.3%. OG varies a bit between about 1.039-1.042, mainly depending how long I mash for (anywhere between 1-10 hrs).

How did a beer I made more than 2 years ago turn out? Well I'm still here so it can't have been too bad! 🤣 Weirdly I do actually remember the change in grist between v2 & v3 of those beers and it did have the desired effect of adding more body. In fact the grist I described then is pretty much...

As I said before, yeah they could fit elsewhere... I think my issues are v (a) It doesn't make sense to me to do dark beers in the summer (I don't think I'm alone in this) (b) How does something like Hefeweizen get judged against, say, Russian Imperial Stout and Double IPA, all of which could...

I think I got the hopping from this very old post. Saaz is really low %AAU so you need a lot if you're going traditional and using it for bittering. And it's a bitter style too, about 40 IBUs - although SMPH (25), Rager (30) and Tinseth (40) all give very different results! I think this...

It's technically a SMASH beer and looks deceivingly simple, but the devil is in the detail of the process 😉

Big round of applause to @Broken Toe for judging 👏👏👏 Well done to @pilgrimhudd and @Caramel Ox 👍🍻 My recipe is here - I'm convinced that a good healthy pitch of yeast followed by a low & slow fermentation is the name of the game, don't rush it.

Hi All, I had been meaning to make some comments/thoughts before someone posted the 2024 schedule but alas @Leon103 has beaten me to it! Main thought is does it make sense to have a dark beer competition in June? The impression I got is the turnout this year wasn't massive - maybe @NormanHurst...

You might wish to reserve judgement on that until you've tasted the beer in question! 😂

Now, obviously I know What Lager then Life is, but for those who don't could you summarise? 🙏😉

AG#124 "Up In Arms" Hazy Pale Ale Brewed this a couple of evenings ago, fermenting away happily now. BUT... I stupidly must have thrown away my kettle finings by mistake!!! 😱😭😢☹️ So instead of my usual crystal clear wort I was left with something resembling orange juice with green food...

@Broken Toe are you still planning to judge on second weekend of December as per your OP? Just checking so I know how promptly I need to get something in the post to you

You've made one before, and as I recall it was rather good 👍🍻

AG#123 Czech Amber Dark Lager Honestly it's much more "Dark" than "Amber", but it's a re-brew of AG#99, possibly the best beer I've ever made! I was tempted to halve the crystal and chocolate rye malts to actually make it amber but it was so good last time I just couldn't do it! In the end the...

Question for you @pilgrimhudd - I'm intrigued by your Ernest & Bramling X combo as I've never used either but I noticed you've done it in a pale ale. Can you see it working in a bitter or do think the malt and hops would be out of kilter?

Yeah, I'm a small batch brewer 👍🍻 Now then, overnight mashing..... I suppose the main benefit is time - you can spread your brew day over one evening/night and the following day which may work better fitting brewdays around family life, work etc. This morning for example I had the boil...